Meaning

This quote redefines marital success not as a static achievement but as an ongoing, repeated act. The idea is that love in a long marriage is not a single feeling that endures unchanged, but something that must be renewed again and again with the same person. Falling in love, in this reading, is not a one-time event but a recurring experience with someone who keeps revealing new dimensions over time.

Context

The line comes from The Neurotic's Notebook, a collection of aphorisms published in 1960. McLaughlin was known for writing witty, perceptive observations about human psychology and relationships, and many of her epigrams carry a light irony alongside genuine insight. This particular quote stands out for being both romantic and realistic at once. It acknowledges that long-term love requires active renewal rather than passive assumption, which gives it a practical depth beneath its tender surface.

About the author

Mignon McLaughlin was an American journalist and author active through much of the twentieth century. She worked as an editor and writer and became known for her collections of aphorisms, which were admired for their psychological sharpness and dry wit. Her observations on love, marriage, and human nature have been widely quoted and anthologized, though she is sometimes less recognized by name than by her lines. Her writing occupies a space between popular wisdom and literary wit, and it has held up well across the decades since its first publication.